1
1
METHODOLOGY
Data Sources Primary data sources used for this study include demographic information from the U.S. Census Bureau and current estimates and projections from ESRI. ESRI is a nationally recognized third-party data provider that uses U.S. Census data to generate estimates and projections of socioeconomic variables for a range of geographic areas. Note that Census only released the 2020 data in August, 2021, which is prior to when this analysis was conducted.
• Opportunity – Gaining access to better paying jobs may require updated skills, technical certifications, and job training for local residents. The DuBois Campus has a long and proud history of providing education services to local residents, but those services are no longer being offered. In the future, the reestablishment of education and expanded job training programs to locations such as at a renewed DuBois Campus is an achievable goal. Issue 3 Homes within the Northeast Community are still more modestly priced and affordable than other neighborhoods in the Town, mostly because the homes are older and smaller in size than the rest of Wake Forest. A more diverse housing stock will offer people different housing options at different stages of life. Having more rental options will attract younger households that are not ready to own a home. • Market Factors – Limited new housing development is starting to occur within the Northeast Community at market rate prices that may be beyond local residents’ ability-to-pay. New housing priced between $200,000 and $300,000 would diversify the study area’s housing options and would still be affordable to many local residents. • Opportunity – Local affordable housing developers are actively seeking to acquire land for affordable housing. A public/private development partnership is one way to achieve affordable housing if suitable land can be obtained at reasonable prices.
County, the Northeast Community falls behind the broader community in certain key metrics such as median household income. However, the Northeast Community can leverage its proximity to Downtown (to the south), the amenities of Ailey Young Park (in the study area), and robust new residential development associated with the Traditions subdivision (located to the north and the east of the study area). As a result, strategic investments and well-crafted public policy should allow the residents of the Northeast Community to better position the community for future growth.
Study Area Boundaries The analysis highlighted the recognized Northeast Community study area boundaries as identified by the Town of Wake Forest’s Planning Department. This area includes community assets such as the DuBois Campus, the Alston-Massenburg Center, and Ailey Young Park. ESRI Business Analyst is the primary data source, whose data is based on U.S. Census data. It should be noted that some anomalies exist in ESRI’s data allocation methods when census block groups are split. The study area boundary does not neatly align with Census block group boundaries, and includes split census block groups. In this case, ESRI creates a centroid in each census block group and attributes all the census data in the block group that contains the centroid. As such, it is possible that though the study area boundary only cuts through a small portion of a block group, the data of that block group is represented in the study area. In other words, it is possible that data is being pulled from adjacent neighborhoods with different characteristics and possibly skewing the numbers. However, RKG was not able to adjust ESRI’s data allocation methods. To produce comparative metrics, the Town of Wake Forest and the Raleigh-Cary MSA were also analyzed and are shown in Figure 1.D.1. This expanded regional analysis provides a comparative measuring stick for evaluating the existing conditions and recent trends in the study area. Studying the broader MSA offers a context for evaluating the demographic changes that are likely to influence and reshape the study area over time. While the Town of Wake Forest is a center of affluence in Wake
STUDY AREA COMPARED TO RALEIGH-CARY METROPOLITAN STATISTICAL AREA FIGURE: 1.D.1
Credit: RKG Associates, Inc., 2021
Chapter 1: Existing Conditions
Northeast Community Plan
26
27
Made with FlippingBook - professional solution for displaying marketing and sales documents online